Becoming Part of the RRCA

Last Wednesday the Rocky Mount Endurance Club held a meeting to discuss incorporating and becoming part of the Road Runner Club of America (RRCA). Those in attendance were: Derek, Tampa, Amber, Frank, Brent, Arthur, and Michael. Below I have documented what was discussed and voted on by those present at the meeting. This is the longest post ever put on the blog, but probably the most important as well, so take some time and read this through and reply with comments.

I. Why join the RRCA: We began by discussing the background of why we were considering joining the RRCA. As stated in a few previous posts, the main objective is to insure the club, and enable us to be more involved in the community by hosting races, fun runs, and training teams. The simplest and most cost effective way to do these things is by joining the RRCA.

II. Benefits of RRCA: The benefits of the RRCA were next on our agenda. The main points were what I stated above. Other benefits include several club discounts, such as car rentals, gear discounts, etc. For a full background on the RRCA visit this site.

III. What Will Change: Next we discussed what would change to the RMEC. My point all along is that virtually nothing will change. We will remain a pretty basic running club that a) constantly tries to find more area runners, and b) get more people expose to the world of running. What will change is we will be able to do more, and there will be annual dues.

IV. Next Steps: To move forward with joining the RRCA, the following steps need to be taken.

1. Elect Club Officers
2. Approve Club Bylaws
3. Decide on Dues
4. Submit Tax Forms and RRCA Paper Work

V. Bylaws: Bylaws are the rules and regulations that dictate the club, and are required to obtain the 501(c)(3) tax status, and allow us to be considered a non profit. The most important pieces of information in the two page document in my opinion are:

1. We will have four officers
2. With approved bylaws nine people are required to vote on a topic
3. The club can not financially benefit it's members
4. If the club dissolves any remaining funds must be transferred to the RRCA or another 501(c)(3)

To view the complete Bylaws of the Rocky Mount Endurance Club follow this link.

VI Dues: This section is long but important to read. The RRCA has dues to be a member. It breaks down as follows assuming we have 35 households:

• $2.27 - Membership Dues
• $2.28 - General Liability Insurance Premium
• $5.00 – Insurance – Directors and Officers Flat Rate for all Clubs
• $9.55 – TOTAL DUE TO RRCA

When setting the RMEC dues, we obviously need to cover the $9.55 above, it is important however to collect funds for our own use. These funds can be used to support our runs with fluids and gels, and some occasional post run coffee and bagels. They also are important to provide funds that enable us to cover early expenses for any race and fun runs we host.

To clarify, the club dues will not pay for race expenses, however a race may borrow from the club balance to cover some early expenses before race entries begin. For example, Frank and I are working on creating a trail marathon at Medoc State Park. There were some park fees we had up front to reserve facilities. Right now those have been paid by Frank, and will be reimbursed once the race establishes its own cash flow. By carrying a small balance in the club account this enables us cover expense like these.

Another example is RMEC shirts. In our current environment, I take a charge on my credit card while I try to collect from everyone. Carrying a balance in the club account avoids this situation.

The club dues, and any races will be accounted for separately, so at any time we can disclose what has been spent where.

During Wednesday's meeting we discussed $25 annual dues (this includes the amount owed to the RRCA). This means the RMEC will collect an additional $15.45 ($25.00 - $9.55) per payment. If we have 35 members, that gives us $386.25 in our beginning balance. We temporarily approved a $25 annual due, but agreed we would open this up to the blog so everyone could share feedback. At the time we set it at $25, I had assumed our RRCA portion would be closer to $13 per member, which I now know is closer to $9.55. If we fall short of 35 members however, the $9.55 per person could increase slightly.

One thing we did not discuss, was a “member” versus a “household”. The RRCA charges are based on households. This means a second or third member of your household would have dues of $15.00 instead of $25.00 (yes I rounded to make it easier). To keep it in perspective, your RMEC membership is roughly the cost of a bottle of Gatorade a month.

VII Officers: Because the election of officers needed to take place, we did this at Wednesday’s meeting. The following positions were nominated, seconded and approved:

• President: Michael Forrester
• Vice President: Frank Lilley
• Secretary: TBD
• Treasurer: TBD

Although the Secretary and Treasurer positions were not filled during the meeting, there was discussion. I proposed Scott Wingfield as Treasurer because of his accounting background (he is a CPA, and has the software to track all club and race expenses). I discussed this with Scott, and he said he would gladly take the position if the members approved.

I also discussed the Secretary position with Tracy Proctor. This position is primarily to document meetings (which should be rare) and I would also like to see the position track local race results. Tracy has said on numerous occasions she is willing to do anything to help.

Based on this, I am nominating Scott Wingfield as Treasurer and Tracy Proctor as Secretary. Keep in mind it will still take nine people to vote on anything, so this will be anything but a dictatorship.

I think it is important to have our Officers represent our club members. Having myself, Frank, Scott, and Tracy as officers I feel represents the genders and age variances of our group.

VIII. What Else: Assuming we can really do something with this club going forward, we can create other benefits to our membership. For example, if we begin to host races and fun runs, RMEC members may get a discounted rate helping to give you more value as a member. Our future however depends on the strength of our membership. We will need everyone to take an active role to see this be a success

IX. Now What: Reply with your comments. Consider this a virtual meeting and we are voting.

• Do you approve a $25 annual fee ($20 for additional household members)?
• Do you approve the bylaws as written?
• Do you approve the Club Officers?
• Do you wish to be a member of the RMEC?

I need your answer to all of the questions, or simply say “yes to all” if you completely agree and have no other feedback.

I would like to submit paperwork to the RRCA on Saturday on April 12^th. This is the day of our unoffical Chase of Champions run, so it will be a great time to collect forms and payment. I need to provide the RRCA a list of members so we can be billed properly, so if you want to be a member, I will get some applications pulled together so we can get you on the official roster and collect your dues.

Thanks to all for everything you do.